🔼The name Diotrephes: Summary
- Meaning
- Cherished By Zeus, Raised By Zeus
- Etymology
- From (1) the name Zeus, and (2) the verb τρεφω (trepho), to nourish or raise.
🔼The name Diotrephes in the Bible
The name Diotrephes occurs only once in the Bible: in 3 John 1:9, the author tells of a man named such.
Apparently, this Diotrephes is a leader of a local church and loves it because of the power it gives him. He also somehow accuses John and company falsely (he possibly disagrees with what John writes) and fails to show hospitality to brethren from outside his little church-club.
According to John, Diotrephes' fellow workers Gaius and Demetrius do a far better job (3 John 1:1 and 1:12).
🔼Etymology of the name Diotrephes
The name Diotrephes consists of two elements. The first part comes from Dios, which is the genitive form of Zeus:
Ζευς Διος
The name Ζευς (Zeus) and its genitive form Dios (Διος) correspond to an ancient root that expressed brightness of sky and clarity of vision. That same root gave us the words dio and deus, meaning god, divine, meaning godly, and diva, meaning deified (feminine). Some say this root even yielded the noun "day" and the verb "to do."
The second part of our name comes from the verb τρεφω (trepho), which means to nourish or raise:
τρεφω
The verb τρεφω (trepho) means to nourish, feed or nurture and emphasizes a guided upbringing into maturity.
🔼Diotrephes meaning
The name Diotrephes means something like Cherished By Zeus or Raised By Zeus.